This book is so lovely. I love a book that is based in magical fantasy but written so much like a nonfiction guide. It was charming and very fun to read and learn more about all the different unicorn mythoses out there.

This book might be a case of trying to appeal to everyone and as a result, appealing to few.

I think that kids who truly, genuinely love unicorns will love this book. However, I don't think it will instill a new love of unicorns in anyone. This book touches on historical depictions of unicorns, classic legends that feature unicorns, descriptions of unicorn cousins (pegasi, mermaids, etc.), unicorns in pop culture, unicorn care, and how to decorate yourself like a unicorn. It covers all of these topics broadly, so as an adult, I didn't really learn anything. I felt like the text walked an awkward line between 'unicorns are definitely real' and 'since you probably won't find a unicorn *cough cough* because they aren't real *cough*.' This might just be my take, but because it oscillated between lore and crafts, it makes it a bit awkward. I wish it covered more depth in the topics featured.

Honestly, I was most excited for Katie O'Neill's art, and there wasn't a lot of it in the book.

Arc provided by NetGalley

I found this to be a really cute and informative book. It was an interesting mix of nonfiction and fiction. We started out with some history of the unicorn and gradually migrated into a fictitious scenario of acquiring one and keeping it around like a pet. I personally liked the beginning section the most. I wasn't really into the fiction part but that may just be because of my analytical brain not wanting to get overly excited about getting a pet I could never have. The crafts included in the end were also nice and seemed well thought out. I loved the artwork in here too, it was adorable. Overall this was a great book for younger readers who love unicorns and want to be more informed on their true and fictitious natures and histories. I would warn though, if you are super well informed on unicorns, their history, and aren't into things like braiding your hair this book may just leave you disappointed as it does not bring up too much out their information and has several hair configurations. But again younger readers will surely think that this is just the bee's knees.

[This review is based on an ARC.] I was drawn to this book because it features Katie O'Neill's artwork, and I adore everything she does. The book itself is a bit sparse on the drawings, though perhaps I had far too high expectations on that front, and I do wish the color palette was broader. The prose content of the book runs the gamut from a fairly detailed historical account of unicorn myths and "discoveries,' a list of pop culture references and examples of unicorns (shoutout to Gwynne for reminding me of my long-forgotten favorite book when I was 8, Bruce Coville's 'Into the Land of the Unicorns!), retellings of some myths themselves, and a very cute back-half 'how-to' guide: how to find a unicorn, how to keep and groom/feed/play with your unicorn, and how to do arts, crafts, and baking projects related to unicorns. I would've adored this book as a child. (One small note on the how-to section on hair braiding: one of the options is box-braids, and while O'Neill's beautiful illustration features a Black girl with box braids along with other girls 'modeling' other braid types, the description and directions for the style never go into its cultural relevance. This seems mildly problematic...)

This was just so cute and adorable. When I saw who the artist was, I knew I had to get it. I was pleasantly surprised by the book overall and absolutely loved it!

I requested this book because of Katie O’Neill. Her illustrations are always beautiful and I love them so much. This book lays our the history of unicorns, the characteristics of unicorns, and even how to find your own unicorn. It’s adorable and when I was young I would have begged my parents to get me this book. And definitely would have tried to catch my own unicorn friend.